I'm Sorry, but I Love You
by mintbanana
Summary: An empty bar, working late, a rug, a kiss and some apologies. Things sometimes just happen that way. Cloti oneshot, Post DoC. Bad summary, please R


_Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. Sad, but there would be very little point in writing fanfiction for it if I did, right?_

_I don't know why. Just one of those random storylines that popped into my head._

_Please review, it makes me happy._

**I'm Sorry, but I Love You**

_Only half ten and already this place is dead, _Tifa thought to herself. She rubbed the glass she was holding with a dishcloth and put it back underneath the mahogany bartop, looking around the empty room as she did so. It really was unusual for it to be deserted this early on; normally she'd be serving drinks till well past midnight, and even then it was usually getting close to one when she finally closed up for the night. Still, it was only a Wednesday, and she was thankful for not being rushed off her feet for once. As she tidied away the rest of the glasses, she decided it was pointless to keep the bar open and started to run through a mental list of everything that was done or had to be done for the next day, separating them neatly in her mind.

_Kids in bed, packed lunches made for school tomorrow, glasses put away, kitchen tidied up…_ She continued to tick things off as she locked the door and flipped off the lights around the room, finishing with a small wall mounted lamp by the stairs. She slid her shoes off and padded silently up said stairs, pausing by the slightly open door to Marlene and Denzel's room. The two were sleeping soundly; Marlene curled up and buried under her covers while Denzel slept sprawled out with his duvet hanging off one side of his bed. Tifa considered going in to straighten it up, but decided to leave it. She continued on down the corridor to her own room, wincing as the door swung open with a loud creak. She quickly discarded her day clothes and slid on a pair of shorts and a Barret-sized (though not belonging to Barret) t-shirt before sliding into bed and settling in to sleep.

XXX

She didn't know what time it was when she was woken, or how long she had been asleep prior to it. All she did know was that she'd heard movement a little ways down the corridor. Slowly, she shifted the covers away and swung her legs out of the bed, touching her feet to the floor without a sound. She tip-toed to the door, listening intently for any more noise. Hearing nothing, she pulled her door open slightly, making sure to avoid the hinges creaking. Slipping out, she made her way down the corridor, keeping herself turned slightly to the side and her arms slightly raised. As she did so, she saw a faint light coming from the doorway of Cloud's study. Realising that it was probably Cloud back home from a delivery run, she relaxed, and gently knocked on the door before entering.

"Cloud?" The blond looked round as she entered, rubbing his head sleepily with a gloveless hand. He acknowledged her with a nod, but his greeting was cut off by a yawn, making Tifa smile; he really was ridiculously cute when he was tired.

"When did you get back?" she asked, wandering over to the empty chair by the second desk in the room. He swung his own chair round to face her, stretching his legs out as he did so.

"About… half an hour ago, maybe."

"Then why are you still up? You had a lot of work today, and you already looked tired this morning."

"I had to file the invoices, and there was some stuff I had to do for…" he yawned again. "For tomorrow."

"Later today you mean." She sighed. "You know I could have filed those for you. I would have been doing the bar accounts anyway." Cloud shrugged and ran his hand through his hair again.

"Didn't think about it I guess. Still, it's started now; I might as well finish it."

"Let me help then, that way we both get to bed faster." Cloud protested a little, saying that she could just go back to bed and leave him to finish it alone. She laughed a little that that.

"Still trying to do everything by yourself. Honestly Cloud, what am I supposed to do with you?" Grabbing a handy pen, she wheeled her chair over beside his and pulled one of the numerous sheets of paper towards her. Cloud gave in after that, knowing exactly how determined his friend could be when she wanted.

XXX

"There, all done" Tifa said sleepily, stretching her arms out over her head. Cloud glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Yeah, it only took us an hour or so." Tifa detected the sarcasm in his voice and swiped him on the arm.

"Yeah? Well it would have taken you longer if I hadn't helped out. You should be thanking me." He raised an eyebrow and smirked a little before getting up out of his chair.

"Well either way, I think I'm gonna hit the sack." Tifa rose from her own chair and nodded her agreement, barely suppressing a yawn. They moved towards the door, but Tifa was so tired that she missed her footing and tripped on the edge of the rug by the desk. She gave out a small yelp of surprise as she pitched forward. Cloud spun as soon as the sound passed her lips and just managed to catch her, although he was so off balance that he only managed to trip himself over in the process. They landed in a heap on the floor, the sounds of impact only muffled slightly by the rug that had landed them in that situation in the first place. Tifa clutched the back of her head where she had smacked it off the floor with her eyes screwed up in pain. Cracking one open, she was then compelled to open both in shock. Obviously the pain of her head hitting the wood of the floor had distracted her from the way the pair had landed. As it happened, Cloud had still been holding on to her as he fell, and so they now found themselves in the awkward situation of Cloud being on top of her.

The pair stared at each other for a moment, both a little stunned from the fall and their current position. Tifa felt a blush creeping over her cheeks as she looked up at the blond, her throat suddenly a little bit dry. Cloud looked as if he was about to say something, but stopped himself and seemed as if he was about to pull away, but Tifa, apparently to tired to do anything other than act on pure instinct, reached up and kissed him.

It was very gentle, and she pulled away almost as soon as she realised what she was doing, but it was clear to both of them that she'd wanted to carry on. She watched as Cloud pushed himself away from her and up to his feet before scrambling to an upright position of her own, her face now flushed a heated crimson.

"Cloud, I'm… I'm sorry, I don't…" She suddenly felt very childish, standing there wearing her shorts and ridiculously over-sized t-shirt, twisting the bottom of the latter in her hands as she tried to justify herself, like a child that had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar before dinnertime.

"I…" She paused, composing herself. "I'm sorry Cloud, but I… I think I… I love you." She watched him warily as he stared at her, stunned. To tell the truth, she was pretty stunned herself. Of all the times to just blurt that out...

"Not the best way to tell you…" she mumbled, shifting her gaze to the ground. Her friend remained silent, and so she decided it might be better just to excuse herself.

"I'll just go back to bed I think." She started for the door, making sure to avoid the rug this time. As she opened it, his hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her arm.

"Teef, did you… Was that… Did you mean that?" Tifa nodded slightly.

"Yes, I did. Is it… okay? That I do?" To her own surprise, she found that question extremely easy to ask, and found herself waiting to see what answer he would give her. Cloud himself was still reeling from this revelation and was only able to give a mumble of:  
"Uhh… sure, I guess." before mentally kicking himself for his insensitivity. Tifa seemed satisfied with the response though, and, with a small, shy smile, left the study and headed for her room, leaving Cloud with a head full of tangled thoughts.

XXX

_-three weeks later-_

"Working late again?" Cloud looked up as the barmaid poked her head around the door of the study, and replied in the affirmative.

"Need any help?"

"No, I'm almost done." She nodded and turned to leave, but he stopped her. "Teef, wait a minute; there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Cocking her head to one side, she looked at him questioningly. He had been a little distant with her since the incident three weeks ago, although nowhere near as bad as he had been in the past. They still spoke, but he'd never actively started a conversation with her. He quickly scribbled down a few last signatures on his paperwork and tossed the pen in the general direction of the pen pot. Beckoning her over to sit in the other chair, he swivelled to face her. She wandered over and sat down, and he took a deep breath and thought a little before speaking.

"Look, Teef. After what happened that night…" He saw her start chewing her bottom lip, a sure sign that she was nervous. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed.

"I'm not _mad_ at you or anything for it, although I know it might have seemed that way. I just… It made me think about things. And I have been thinking and I just…" She smiled.

"It's okay, Cloud. You don't have to try and make me feel better by being nice about it. I know you don't like me that way. I came to terms with that ages ago." He looked at her, bemused. _Just how long as she had a thing for me?_ he thought, before shaking it from his mind and returning to the matter at hand.

"No Teef, that's not it. It's just, ever since that night I've just been thinking that we've been through a lot, and I've pulled you through hell and back and the fact that you've stuck with me and you're still able to say _that_… It made me realise that maybe…" Tifa stood abruptly and swept her hair back roughly behind her ears, yet another sign of her agitation.

"Cloud, really, you don't have to…" He rose as well, walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him, confusion in her wine-coloured eyes. He smiled at her apologetically, before finishing with:

"No, Tifa, it's not like that. I'm sorry, but… I love you too."

**-end-**

_Yes, it was fluff and it was long and I don't know how good it was. Please review._


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